


+Plus Signs

by AveryWinchester



Category: Actor RPF
Genre: Angst, Childhood Friends, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Interracial Relationship, Mental Abuse, Smut, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-29 22:30:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10146017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AveryWinchester/pseuds/AveryWinchester
Summary: Danni and Chris have been best friends all of their lives.  They’ve shared almost everything.   When Chris comes back to Boston while on break from promoting his new Captain America film, the two end up sharing a lot more than what they expected.Author’s Note:My first ever Chris Evans fan fiction.      The timeline would be around the premiere Civil War.  So, the beginning of 2016.





	1. Broken Hearts & Plus Signs

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: NSFW GIFS

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* * *

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**CHAPTER ONE: _BROKEN HEARTS & PLUS SIGNS_**  
  
Pulling his baseball cap further down on his head, Chris Evans walked into the local bar, **Tommy’s Tavern**. His blue eyes scanned the entire area, before they landed on her. He smiled to himself as he watched her smile and mingle her way with the local patrons. Her flawlessly, smooth, russet brown skin shined brightly underneath her megawatt smile.

She was casually dressed in a pair of denim skinny jeans that were practically painted on, a black camisole, underneath a red and black flannel button up, which he knew that she had ‘ _borrowed_ ’ from his closet and never returned. And deep, raven colored tresses hung past her waist, in soft waves.

She finally made eye contact with him, from her spot, behind the bar, and smiled brightly. Immediately hopping over the counter, she ran to him, where he welcomed her with open arms. His strong arms wrapped around her waist, as he slightly lifted her from the ground. It felt like it had been forever and a day since he saw her last. But it had only been a mere few months.

As he placed her down, the two of them spending a moment taking each other in.

“When did you get back?” She grabbed his face, with growth of a beard forming, in the palm of her hands.

“Earlier this morning.” His hands still on her waist.

She stepped back, crossing your arms across her chest in a playful manner. “And I couldn’t have been bothered with a phone call?”

“What if I wanted to surprise you?”

She rolled her eyes, annoyed. _Right on time_ , he thought. “You know how much I hate surprises!”

“I know that’s why I did it.” He smirked, before flinching as her fist came flying into his arm.

She rolled your eyes at him, yet again. “ _Fucking_ meatball. You know I hate you sometimes?”

“If that means you love me, then yes I know.” He teased, and this time she punched him in the gut. He grunted. “Why are you so _mean_ to me?”

“You deserve it.” She pointed in his face, and then pulled him back in for another hug. “Ugh, I missed you.”

“God, I missed you too.” He wrapped his arms around her again, pulling her close to him and taking in her scent. She always smelled like vanilla and coconut. His favorite scent on her.

“So, what are we drinking tonight?” She broke his thoughts, by grabbing his hand and dragging him over toward the bar.

He took a seat on a vacant stool and shrugged. “Whatever’s on tap.” He got himself comfortable, as he watched her take her place back behind the bar. “So, how you been?”

She shrugged, filling his mug up with fresh brew. “Well since the last time we spoke, I’ve been doing ok.”

“Your mom still giving you shit?”

“When doesn’t she ever?” She jokingly scoffed, sitting the mug in front of him. “I guess life could be better. I mean, I’m not the one running around, saving the world in a star-spangled jumpsuit.” She teased, loving the fact that the look on his face, whenever she mentioned his feature role, never got old.

“And here we go…”

“Equipped with handy shield.” She giggled softly, as she received a playful glare from him. “I’m just kidding. You know I’m proud of you, Cap. It’s not everyday your best friend gets to play a beloved comic book superhero on the big screen.”

“Thank you.” He took a sip. “Speaking of beloved, did you ever hear back from that photography internship you kept yapping on about for the past few months?”

“Yeah, they went in a different direction.” She told him nonchalantly, as she began to wipe out the clean cups.

“I’m sorry, buddy.” He reached over and patted her hand gently. “I know you had your heart set on it.”

“It’s ok.” She shrugged. “It just wasn’t meant to be.” She cleared her throat, after a few moments of silence. “So, I was grocery shopping yesterday and a magazine caught my eye.”

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes at her. “What did I tell you about those magazines? You never listen, do you?”

“It’s my thing. Let it go.” Again she giggled softly, before leaning down on the counter. “Any who, color me surprised when my best friend’s mug was plastered across the front. I didn’t call you, because I figured it wasn’t true.” He let out deep, exasperated sigh, as he took another sip. This one a bit longer. “Oh so it is. Ok.” She bit her lip, wiping her hands on the towel and tossing it underneath the counter. “We’re gonna need something stronger than tap.” Grabbing two shot glasses and a bottle of their best brand of whiskey, she yelled to an older man, who was engaging with another patron. “Yo, Tommy, I’m gonna take my break now.” Tommy nodded, before she made her way around the bar, grabbing Chris’ elbow and pulled him away. The both of them took a seat in the back corner of the bar where no one else was. “Do you wanna talk about it?” She poured him and herself a shot.

He shrugged, finishing the rest of his drink from his mug, before picking up the shot and throwing it back. “We hadn’t even confirmed it yet. Right now, it’s all speculation.”

“What the hell happened?” She took her own shot, trying not to choke. She never understood how Chris could down whiskey without flinching, and she always felt as every drop was killing her insides slowly.  Now tequila on the other hand…

He shrugged, throwing back another shot she poured him. “She wasn’t right for me.” He looked over at her, watching you take your next shot, smirking because he knew whiskey wasn’t her thing. “You know, I finally saw her for who she really was. The fighting just wouldn’t stop. It was constant. Over the smallest things. Anything would set her off. And I was tired of taking the brunt of it.”

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this?” She also didn’t understand why she was just now hearing about this. Normally, Chris would always come to her for anything that was going on in his life.

He downed his next shot. “I didn’t wanna drag you into the middle of this mess. I didn’t want to burden my problems onto you.”

“Are you kidding me?” She furrowed her brows in confusion. “You’re my best friend, Chris. We tell each other everything! There is no such thing as a burden when it comes to you and me. I’m always here for whatever you need.”

“I know that.” He nodded, taking another shot. “But according to her, that was the problem.”

“What do you mean?” She questioned, taking your next shot.

“Well,” he cleared his throat, obviously trying to find the right words, “she felt like my friendship with you was more important than my relationship with her.”

“Why on earth would she think that?”

“I tell you things that I don’t tell her. Things that I don’t even tell my mom. You are the first, and sometimes the only, person I go to when I’m having any kind of problems.”

“I’m sorry.” She whispered softly, immense guilt forming in her stomach.

He immediately looked over at her, grabbing her hand, giving it a squeeze. “No, don’t be. I’m not gonna apologize for our friendship. And you shouldn’t either.”

“I just wish there was something I could do to make things right.” She reached out with her other hand and gently caressed his jaw.

“What’s done is done.” He shrugged, picking up the shot glass and subconsciously examining it closely. “There is nothing anybody can do. We’re finally over.” He looked back her, with her own glass and clinked his glass with hers, before they threw them back together.

“Blech.” She gagged, turning your shot glass over on the table. “I don’t know how you drink this shit.” She spat, causing him to chuckle lightly.

* * *

“Oh my _God_ , I still can’t get over the fact that you told your mom that. I still can’t even look her in the eye without thinking that she believes I defiled her baby boy.” She cringed, as the two of them made their way down the streets of Boston, the whiskey keeping them warm on this cool April night.

They were heading towards her apartment, which was only a few blocks away.

Chris laughed heartily, grabbing at his chest. “Oh, don’t be silly, my ma loves you.”

“That still doesn’t make the situation any less nerve wracking, _Christopher Robert_. You told her we had sex!” She whispered harshly, the whiskey affecting her more than usual, and he laughed a little louder than before.

“First, don’t middle name me, _Danielle Elise_. And second, I was seventeen, and way too excited. I wanted to tell somebody. You of all people know, besides you, I tell my mother practically everything.”

Danielle giggled softly, before teasingly patting his face. “Yes, I know, my meatball is a mama’s boy.”

* * *

“I’m serious Danni, you have got to be the worse Boston fan in the state of Massachusetts.” Chris said, taking a sip of his beer, as he and Danielle sat in the living room of her one bedroom apartment.

“I’m sorry, but how can you honestly support a team that does absolute shit? It’s beyond me.” Danielle shrugged, fishing through her bowl of Cheeto puffs. Her favorite go to snack.

“What about the Patriots?”

Again, Danielle cringed at the sound of that team. “Oh my God, **A)** they didn’t even make it to the Super Bowl last season and **B)** Tom Brady has his head so far up his own ass, he’d be able to spit hair gel. I can’t trust a man who spends longer in the bathroom than me.”

Chris narrowed his blue eyes at Danielle, clearly offended by her comments. “I don’t even know who you are right now. Why are we friends again?”

“Because I’m the only one who can put up with your ass.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “And just because you worship the ground that sleazebag walks on,” she didn’t miss the way he rolled his eyes, “doesn’t mean I have to. But trust and believe, no matter how much most Boston teams annoy me, I still love my –”

“ _Sox_ , I know. Ride or die Red Sox girl here.” Chris patted her thigh. “I know you want to be buried in your David Ortiz jersey, right beneath the dugout at **Fenway**. So you can watch Red Sox games for eternity. Don’t you think I know you better than I know myself.” He finished off his drink, before sitting the bottle down on the coffee table.

“Is that so?” Danielle followed suit, sitting her bowl next to his empty bottle, and turned to face him.

“Uh, yeah.” Chris turned to face her. “I know every little thing about you. Even that cute little mole right between your –”

“ _Ok_!” Danielle cut him off, and Chris just laughed, again grabbing at his chest. “Yes, you know me well.” Her face read of complete embarrassment.

“ _Very_ well.” Chris corrected her.

Danielle rolled her eyes in his direction. “Ok, Mr. Know It All. What’s my favorite movie?”

“Easy. You tell people it’s **_Weekend At Bernie’s_** , but it’s actually **_Grease_**. I don’t know how many times you’ve made me watch that damn movie. And your face does this cute little thing when John Travolta starts singing _Greased Lightning_.” He teased, softly poking at her cheek.

“Are you telling me you don’t like like _Greased Lightning_?” Danielle scoffed at him, doing the hand part of the dance from that number in the movie.

Chris blinked several times and shook his head at her. “No.”

Danielle sneered, folding her arms across her chest. “Favorite book?”

“Even easier. **_The Shining_**. You love scaring the shit out of yourself and then calling me to chase away the monsters.”

“What else?”

“You’re scared _shitless_ of spiders. Or any kind of bugs for that matter. It annoys the hell out of you when I do this.” He proceeded to poke her side, and she quickly smacked his hand away. He did it again for good measure, and she punched him in the in the chest. “Ow,” he grabbed his injury and laughed, “you absolutely hate surprises, unless they’re from me. You’re afraid of turning into your mother. That’s your biggest fear of all. And when I touch you here,” he gently caressed her collar, and she slightly shivered, “you do _that_.”

Danielle sucked in a deep breath, trying to contain her composure. “Fine, two can play this game. You love **_The Simpsons_** and **_Braveheart_**. You hate spiders as much as I do, mister.” She poked his injured chest, from where she had just suckered punched him. He winced a bit. _Served him right_. “You love ice cream, especially if it’s from Cold Stone. You always carry a bag of starburst jelly beans in your gym bag, thinking that no one would notice. As a matter of fact,” she reached over and straddled his lap, grabbing his jacket.

“What the hell are you doing?” He asked, as he watched her rummage through the pockets, his hands instinctively settling on her hips.

Danielle finally found what she was looking for. A half eaten bag of the jelly beans, she raised proudly in the air. “May not be a gym bag, but case definitely proven.” She smiled down at him.

He quickly snatched the bag, embarrassed, tossing it on the coffee table.

“Oh yeah, you have a freckle that’s shaped like a heart on your butt,” Danielle continued on with their game, not moving from her spot on Chris’ lap. “Which your mom thought was cancerous, but turns out it’s just a weird freckle. When something is really funny to you, you do this weird boob grab thing. It’s almost kinda adorable. Oh, and when I touch you here,” she caressed the nape of his neck, he twitches and then groaned, “you do _that_.”

The two of them hadn’t realized how close they had gotten to each other since she had moved positions, until they were practically nose to nose. 

Chris looked up into her dark eyes and whispered, “maybe she had a point about us.” He removed a wispy tendril that had fallen from her messy bun, behind her ear.

“Why would you say that?” She whispered back, staring down at his lips, as her delicate hands cupped his jaw.

“Because, all I want to do right now is kiss you.”

“Then why don’t you?”

* * *

Fevered kisses and shaky breaths were the only noises that were made, as they burst through her bedroom door. Her long legs were securely wrapped around his waist, as he held her against the wall. His lips travel down the back of her ear down the side of her neck, and she involuntarily shivered.

A trail of clothes left in the wake as the both of them finally made it to the bed. No barrier between them, just skin to skin. His lust blown blue eyes looked down at her, before raising her hands above her head and finally sliding his way home. Danielle’s back arched, and a whimper fell from her lips. She was already coming undone underneath him. 

He slid in and out of her body at an even pace, setting a rhythm. She wrapped herself against him and held on for dear life. His lips dragged down the column of her neck, down her collarbone and right to her breasts, where his hot mouth latched onto a puckered nipple. She squeaked and quivered, as he knew that it was her weakness.

His calloused fingers then gripped her hips, quickening his pace. He watched himself appear and disappear into her wet abyss, feeling the tightening sensation in his body. He was close to exploding. He knew she was close as well. He could feel her walls contracting against him. He was ready to bring her over the edge. So when he pulled his thumb from his mouth, he placed it on her clit and rubbed slowly.

Her breath started to become uneven as every inch of her body began tingle. His thumb, with pressure, began to rub faster on her clit. She knew exactly was what about to happen, but still wasn’t prepared for the sensation that traveled through her. It started in her toes and worked its way up, as her body twitched and convulsed against its own volition.

“Oh, _God_ ,” she could barely release, as wave after tidal wave crashed through her body.

“ _Fuck_ , _Danni_ ,” he groaned, the feeling of her walls milking him for everything he’s got.

His body collapsed on hers, as he helped her ride out the rest of her orgasm, before finally succumbing to his own.

He placed feverish kisses to her chest, collarbone and neck, before then finally pulling away from her . No words were spoken, as she rolled over and laid her body across his, her head firmly placed on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her body, and he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

* * *

Danielle awoke the next morning. Yawning, she turned over and realized that his side of the bed was empty. Well, except for a folded sheet of paper, placed intricately on the pillow. She reached over and grabbed the note.

 

She couldn’t help, but smile at the ending to the note. It was so typical of him.

* * *

**4 Weeks Later**

Danielle’s pedicured feet made their way across the carpeted floor, as her delicate fingers pressed play on the answering machine, before making her way toward her bathroom.

The machine beeped once, before a woman’s voice was heard. “ _Hi, my name is Terrie Montgomery, the head of **IMAGES NEW YORK**. This message is for Danielle James. I know a month ago, your application to join our company was rejected. And after revisiting your portfolio, we failed to realize how exquisite your work is_.”

Danielle sighed heavily, looking at your reflection in the mirror, as the message continued.

“… _And well it looks like there is another opening at our gallery_ …”

She sucked in a deep breath, her heart pounding in her chest. She was currently fighting with herself on whether or not take that leap. She didn’t want to do this, but she knew she had to. She had no other choice in the matter. Because she had already made a choice -a drunken choice- four weeks ago.

Her brown eyes peered down at the time on her cell phone. It was time.

Danielle swallowed excruciatingly hard, finally forcing herself to grab the foreign object that was sitting on the edge of her bathroom sink.

“… _and we wanted to be the first to offer you a full and complete opportunity to be apart of our company_.”

She closed her eyes and counted backwards from five, before flipping the object over.

Her heart stopped at the one word that was practically taunting her, across its screen.

_Ugh_ …this couldn’t be good.


	2. Lunch With The Devil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: belittling by a parent and morning sickness

About a week later, Danielle James found herself walking into a swanky cafe in the heart of downtown Boston. She was there to meet up with her older sister, Dina, to go over important wedding details.

Danni wasn’t even sure if she could talk, much less think about anything else. A urine test at her gynecologist, yesterday, confirmed the home test. She was definitely pregnant. And she had no idea what she was going to do about it.

Danni immediately spotted her sister, as she was waved over.

“Hey, beautiful.” Dina greeted her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “How are you?”

“I’m good, Dee.” Danielle, answered, taking a seat across from her sister. “How are you?”

“Exhausted.” Dina exasperated, throwing her hands in the air dramatically. “I really need my baby sister’s help.”

“What’s going on?” Danni’s brows knit in confusion, as she subconsciously reached over to grab a piece of bread from the basket. She dipped it into the olive oil concoction that was provided on the table, and then shoveled it into her mouth.

_Goodness fucking grief_ , her body was already doing weird things to her. Just this morning, she spent two hours bending over the toilet seat, emptying everything in her stomach. Now she was shoving food into her mouth as if her life depended on it.

Dina eyed her little sister behavior warily, before continuing. “Mom’s driving me crazy, Danni. She’s being completely unreasonable. You know daddy said that I could have the wedding at his estate, because you know how much I love that place. But now mom is actually refusing to go to the wedding now. I need you to talk to her for me.”

“ _Me_?” Danni questioned with a full mouth. “Why me? Mom never listens to a word I say. Especially when it comes to daddy. She always complains about me taking his side.” She dips another piece of bread into the oil and taking another bite.

“Well, we’ve got to do something, Danni. I can’t not have my own mother at my wedding.” Dina said, before the waiter came and asked for their drinks. “Yes, I’ll take a white wine spritzer, and she’ll have the **Stella Artois** with a lime wedge and little foam as possible. Thank you.”

Danni took another bite of her bread, this time foregoing the oil. “What do you want me to do, Dee?” She asked, listening to her sister order a drink for her. “No, I’ll just have a water, thanks.” She told the waiter, and he nodded, crossing out the beer and just adding the water.

Dina looked at her sister, taken aback. “A _water_? Danni, _sweetie_ , I need you to be on the same page with me.” She turned to the waiter. “She’ll have that beer.”

The waiter hesitated, turning to Danni for her approval.

“ _Dina_.” She scolded, before turning to the waiter. “I’m sorry. I’ll take that water with a lemon on the side please.”

The waiter nodded and disappeared before the order changed.

“Danni, _why_ are you doing this me?” Dina whined. “You’re usually the first to order a drink. Especially, if you know that mom is coming.”  She then cringed for letting that cat out of the bag.

Danni groaned loudly.  _Of course this was a fucking set up_.  “ **A)** I didn’t know mom was coming, thanks so much for that. **B)** I am just not in a drinking mood.” She then tried to come up with an excuse to why she wasn’t able to drink. She just wasn’t ready for anyone to know yet.

But Dina had obviously figured it out as her dark brown eyes widened in shock.

“Oh, my _God_. That explains it all.”

“Explains what?” Danni feigned innocence.

“The no drinking, and you’re sitting here stuffing your face like you hadn’t eaten in years.”  Dina pointed at what Danni was doing.

Danni paused on her next bite, looking at her sister and back down at the piece of bread in her hand. She sighed heavily, sitting the bread on her empty plate and dusting her hands together to get rid of crumbs. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you _do_ ,” Dina pointed an accusing finger, “you know _exactly_ what I’m talking about. You’re _pregnant_.”

Danni tried to shush her sister. “Any _louder_ , Dee? I don’t think the guy in the back heard you.”

“I’m sorry. So, you are pregnant?” Dina asked, and Danni nodded in confirmation. “But you’re not dating anyone. Because if you were I would know this.” She rambled. “Who’s the father?”

“Dee, just _breathe_ , ok. I’m still coming to terms with this myself.”

“Tell me at least it wasn’t a one night stand.”

“ _Define_ one night stand.” Danni thought to hell with it, picking up the forgotten bread and shoving it into her mouth. “I mean technically if we’re talking in a _literal_ sense, it may _be_ considered a one night stand.”

“ _Danni_ …” Now it was Dina’s turn to groan at her sister’s misbehavior. She knew that Danielle didn’t have a knack for relationships.

“But would it be considered a one night stand if I have already slept with him before?” Danni didn’t like the look her sister was giving her, so she tried to reason.

“Any of your exes? Please don’t tell me it’s Blake. Because your kid will be doomed before it gets here.”

Danni frowned.  “No, it’s not Blake. And what do you mean doomed?”

“Oh, _thank_ God.” Dina let out a sigh of relief, before diving back in with her questioning. “Is it _Sean_? I mean he was gorgeous and from Australia, but he was dumb as a bag of rocks.”

“It’s not, Sean, ok.”  Danni rolled her eyes.

“Oh, my God, it’s Brett? It’s Brett isn’t it? Oh, no Derek.”

_Insert Another Eye Roll_.  Danni cut her sister off because she was now annoyed. “Would you _stop_ naming the _ghost of my boyfriend’s past_? It’s not any of them, ok.”

“Oh, my God. I know who it is.” Dina covered her mouth in shock, watching Danni cringe at the answer they both knew.

But before Dina could blurt out the name of Danni’s baby daddy, the girls’ mother interrupted their conversation when she walked up to their table.

“Hello, my darlings.”

“Hi, mom.” Dina turned to her mother and plastered a smile on her face. She acted as if her sister hadn’t just dropped a major bombshell.

Donna James leaned in to give Dina a kiss on the cheek. “My beautiful, Dina.” She then turned to Danielle. “And Danielle,” she leaned to kiss her youngest daughter’s cheek, but immediately pulled back, cupping her jaw, “have you put on weight, dear? You know you have to fit into your bridesmaid’s dress remember?” She questioned, taking a seat and removing her expensive white pea coat. “I knew working at that bar would put weight on you. I’ll talk to my trainer, Janice, and she’ll get you in tip top shape for your sister’s wedding.”

Danni pursed her lips together, taking in her mother’s words. That woman could cut peoples souls with her words.  She was never fucking satisfied. She always had something to say about Danni’s life. Who she was dating. Who she wasn’t dating. The way she dressed. How she wore her hair. The fact that she blew most of her inheritance on the damn bar.

90% of the time the two of them butted heads, but for the sake of Dina’s wedding, Danni just sat back and bit her tongue.

Well, most of the time anyway.

“I’m fine, mom. Thanks.” Danni seethed, picking up another piece of bread.

Donna rolled her bright eyes, before removing the offensive carbohydrate from her daughter’s hand, and then proceeding to pick up a menu. “So, what are we ordering?”

Dina cleared her throat, apologizing to her little sister with her eyes. “We haven’t quite ordered yet, mom, we were waiting on you.”

“Well, everything looks delicious.” Donna’s eyes trained on the menu, as the waiter finally returned with Danni and Dina’s drinks. “Yes, I’ll have a glass of Merlot, and we would like to start off with the lobster dip, two orders of your house made fusilli, and the Tuscan kale vegan for her.” She smiled at the waiter, while patting Danni’s forearm.

Danni sucked in a deep breath, counting backwards to calm down. “Mom, actually–”

“That is all, thank you.” Donna cut Danni off, shooing the waiter. “So, Danielle,” she turned to her, “when am I going to meet this Austin? I hope before the wedding right?”

Danni cringed at that. She hadn’t been with Austin in months. “Yeah, about that mom, Austin and I broke up.”

“ _What_? What happened this time?”

“It just wasn’t right.” Danni quickly stated. She didn’t want to get into this with her mom right now. “Look, mom,”

Donna cut her off, infuriation radiated off of her. “ _Danielle Elise_ , when are you going to get it together? I swear I don’t know how you turned out this way. You change relationships more than you change your _damn_ underwear, girl. I’m surprised that you’re not knocked up somewhere.”

Dina choked on her spritzer, and both her mother and sister turned to look at her. “Sorry, went down the wrong pipe.” She cleared her noticing the look of defeat on her little sister’s face and finally intervened. “Mom, we actually need to discuss a few things.”

“Like what, darling?” Donna asked, absentmindedly picking up her fork, studying it, before taking her napkin and wiping it clean.

“Mom, we want to talk to you about having the wedding at daddy’s estate.” Dina spat out nervously.

“Oh, we don’t need to discuss that, sweetheart.” Donna waved Dina off. “The decision has been made. It’s not happening.”

Dina huffed subtly and turned to Danni for assistance. Danni, still reeling from her mother’s hurtful words, looked at Dina, shaking her head. There was no way she could speak with that woman right now. She just wanted to get through this lunch and go the hell home.

But Dina, of course, pleaded with her big russet eyes, and Danni reluctantly caved in.

“But mom,” Danni cleared her throat, “you know how much Dina loves the estate, and daddy is willing to pay for it all.”

Donna turned her now disappointed bright chocolate eyes toward her youngest again. “You have always been on his side, Danielle. I don’t know why you can’t side with me on this?”

_Because you’re an evil bitch and I sometimes wonder why I still talk to you_. Danni thought to herself.

“I don’t understand why you can’t side with _her_ ,” Danni pointed to Dina, “on this. I mean, it is her wedding. It’s what she wants. Isn’t it supposed to be about the bride? Not the _mother_ of the bride. Everything doesn’t revolve around you.” Danni snapped, and both Donna and Dina looked at her in complete stupor.

“Who do you think you are talking to like that, young lady?” Donna threw her napkin down in a fit.

Danni rolled her eyes in annoyance. Here we go. _Another fucking temper tantrum_.

Danni went to respond, but of course at this time, her stomach began to churn and she felt that bread she consumed, rising back up in her throat. “Excuse me.” She stood up from her seat and bolted to the nearest restroom.

She had never been so grateful for morning sickness until this very moment.

* * *

“What are you doing here?” Danni asked her sister, as Dina leaned up against the wall outside of the ladies’ room.

“Mom, had to take a call, and I wanted to check on you.”

“I’m fine, Dee. I’m still trying to adjust to not being able to hold anything down.” Danni tiredly explained. “How’s mom? She didn’t seem too pissed, did she?”

Dina shrugged nonchalantly and chuckled lightly. “I don’t know how you do it. Mom will be fine. You’ve got bigger things to worry about.” She smirked, tapping her little sister’s tummy. “Besides, she’s mom. She’ll always have something to bitch about.”

“She’s probably telling her high society friends about what a terrible daughter I am. And this,” Danni placed her hands on her lower abdomen, after Dina’s love tap, “won’t help the situation either.  34, bartender, pregnant by best friend.  I mean, what’s not to talk about.”  She giggled.

“Wait, I thought I was your best friend?”  Dina joked, and they both laughed.  “I can’t believe that you’re pregnant. Have you told, Chris?”

Danni shook her head, hand still placed protectively on her stomach. “No, not yet. I’ve tried calling and texting him, but he’s been really busy these past few weeks. I’ll hear from him soon. But, Dee, until I can figure this out, and tell Chris, I need you to keep quiet. Please don’t tell Abram.”

“And why would I do that?” Dina knitted her perfectly sculpted brows in confusion. Did her little sister not trust her or something?

“Because he’s your fiancé, but he’s also Chris’ cousin. I don’t want him to find out that way. I want to tell him myself.”

Dina nodded, throwing an arm around Danni, pulling her into a hug. “Ok, well, how about telling mom?” She smirked, but Danni immediately gave her the biggest side eye. “Hear me out, I mean I could use this as leverage to get her to loosen up on letting me have the wedding at daddy’s.”

“Seriously?” Danni pulled back, staring at her least favorite person right now, in shock. “Dee, you are not using my child as leverage to get mom to do what you want.”

“I’m sorry.” Dina exclaimed, pulling her sister back toward her. “It was worth a shot.” She giggled softly, while Danni playfully rolled her eyes. “Come on, let’s go, before she thinks we’ve jumped ship and abandoned her.”

The sisters then made their way back to their already disastrous lunch with their evil mother


	3. It's Raining An Ex-Girlgriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> gifs not mine

 

  
  


**Chapter Three:  It’s Raining A Crazy Ex-Girlfriend**  

The Boston weather was being unpredictable around this time of the year. One day it would be freezing cold. The next could be warm with a slight breeze. But of course tonight, as luck would not be on Danni’s side, it was torrentially down pouring.

Earlier today, she had called the gallery about her paid internship opportunity. They were very understanding and gave her a few weeks for her to make a decision about taking the job. This was something that Danni had wanted all of her life, but now life had thrown a curveball, and she still had no clue how to handle it.

She sighed heavily, sitting in her vehicle, watching at the rain poured in buckets. She was currently parked in front of Chris’ condo, contemplating on whether or not she should go in. They hadn’t spoken since that night, but after her many attempts to contact him, she finally gave. But then he’s tried to text her back on occasions, as well, but she made up every excuse in the book to avoid him and life.

She knew he was home. She knew this was her opportunity to tell him, “ _hey, you remember how much you have been saying you’ve wanted to be a dad? I’ve got one baking for you right now_.”

Danni let out a frustrate growl, banging her head against her steering wheel. She didn’t want to do this. She really didn’t. But she had no other choice. Chris needed to know. Now it was a matter of getting out of the damn car.

“ _You can do this_.” She whispered to herself. Motivation was key. “You can just knock on the door and tell your best friend that he’s going to be a father. That shouldn’t be too hard, right?”

She internally cringed at her own question.

Taking in a deep breath, she decided to rip the band-aid off. Hopefully it won’t be as painful, as her head was telling her. Gathering her umbrella, she stepped out of her car, to brace the unruly weather.

Making her way into the building, she took the elevator to his floor, where his door was the first door on the right. She had to take in another breath, because her heart was pounding a mile a minute in her chest, and her hands were sweating giant balls.

Finally getting the courage, she gave the door three knocks. Everything seemed to go in slow motion, as the door opened and there he stood before. Her meatball. Her child’s father.

“Hi.” She squeaked, giving him a soft wave.

“ _Danni_?!” His bright blue eyes lit up at her presence. “What are you doing here? Come in.” He motioned for her to walk inside his place.

Danni had been to his place plenty of times before, even stayed the night here more than she could count, but right now, the nerves were running rampid in her system.

“I’ve been texting you for a week now, and you haven’t been answering.” Chris spoke, while removing items on his couch for her to have a seat.

She shrugged, sitting. Maybe if she sat, her nerves would ease up. “I’m sorry. Life has been insane this past month. Uh, I actually came to talk to you about something.”

“Ok,” he furrowed his brows in confusion, taking a seat on the coffee table in front of her. “Is everything alright?”

“Depends on what you mean by alright.” She bit her lip, still fighting to the butterflies in her tummy.

But before the conversation could continue, they were interupted by the sound of barking. Out ran, Dodger, Chris’ new dog, as he practically jumped onto the couch and into Danni’s lap.

“ _Dodger_ ,” Chris chastised, “get off Danni.  C'mon, buddy.”

“Hi, _Dodger_.” Danni squealed at the playful dog, scratching behind his ears, and just like that her nerves went away. “No, don’t tell him that.” She told Chris, continuing to play with the dog she had a hand in helping Chris pick from the shelter last year.

Chris smiled at the interaction, giving a Dodger his own playful pat. “It looks like he’s missed you.”

“Well I’ve missed him too.” Danni gave the dog’s wet nose a kiss and continued to give his ears some scratching. “ _Right, boy_? Who’s a _good_ boy? Are you a _good_ boy?” She cooed, as Dodger happily wagged his tail and gave a few barks.

“Alright, you, that’s enough.” He tried to pull Dodger away from Danni, but he would not budge.  He just laid his head in her lap. “Dodger,” he snapped his fingers, but Dodger just gave him a look and continued to stay where he was. 

“Don’t be jealous that your dog is more into me than he is to you.” Danni teased, sticking her tongue out at Chris, continuing to softly stroke Dodger’s fur.

“Look, at him.” Chris pointed to Dodger who was now completely relaxed under Danni’s touch, and falling asleep on her lap. He leaned down and picked up one of Dodger’s ears, whispering, “ _traitor_.” But Dodger seemed to have no care in the world. Chris just laughed and turned his attention to his best friend. “You said you wanted to talk to me about something.”

Danni stopped patting, looking over at Chris. Great, there went her nerves again. “I actually…”

“Chris, I put our clothes down to wash.” The new walked into the room, and stopped dead in her tracks, her dark brown eyes in shock by the scene before her. “Danni, hi.” She bitterly spat.

Danielle immediately stood to her feet, at _her_ presence. Dodger immediately scurried off the couch. “Hi, Camille,” she swallowed, “I didn’t know you were in town.”

Camille stood before her ex and his best friend, trying not scowl. “Yeah,” she folded her arms across her chest. “I’m getting to ready to film a new movie here, and I ran into Chris, and here we are.”

Danni felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach, as she noticed that Camille was currently in one of Chris’ shirts. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Camille cleared her throat, “it’s a mere coincidence.” She smiled, but it was unbelievably fake, before reaching down to pet Dodger who was walking by. Dodger just growled and barked at her, and she quickly snatched her hand back.

“Dodger, _no_!” Chris seethed, walking over to Dodger. “Go!” He snapped at the dog, who just barked in returned. “I’ll be right back.” Chris told the girls, picking up the dog and taking him away from the living room.

Thing got quiet for a minute, as each girl was left with the thickest of tension in the air.

Camille was the first to break, sighing and sitting on the arm of the couch. “Look, Danni, Chris and I got to talking, and it looks like we might try to work on us.” The gorgeous brunette explained. “I know you’re his best friend and he practically worships the ground you walk on, but I feel that we can’t work on us, if you’re here. I mean, I’m not trying to sound rude or anything, but I– _we_ think it’s best if you kept your distance for a while.”

Pursing her lips together, Danni tried to process Camille’s words. “And Chris is ok with this?”

Camille nodded, a smirk perched on her lips. “It was actually his suggestion. He’s just too scared to tell you because of how close you are.”

Danni knew that Camille was spitting utter bullshit, but she also knew Chris. Camille was here for a reason. “Oh, ok.”

“Sorry about that, Cam.” Chris said, returning back from his room, where he left his dog. “I have no idea what’s gotten into him lately.” He then turned to Danni. “So, you said you wanted to talk right?”

Danni looked at Chris and then looked at Camille, who was snottily checking out her nails, and then back at Chris. She couldn’t do it. Not now anyway. “You know what? This can actually hold off. I can see that I’ve clearly interrupted something here.” She motioned between Chris and Camille.

“You said it was important.” Chris looked at his best friend with concern. What was she hididng from him? “Cam doesn’t mind. Do you?” He turned to his ex.

“Not at all.” She smiled innocently, retreating from the living room, satisfied with what she had accomplished.

Danni shook her head, watching Camille leave. “It wasn’t that important. I’m just gonna head out. Enjoy your night.” She grabbed her things and quickly headed for the door.

“Danni, wait.” Chris stopped her, grabbing her elbow and turning her to face him. “Are you sure you’re ok?”

Danni swallowed hard, trying to fight back the tears. “I am perfectly fine.”  
Chris didn’t believe her. He knew her better than anybody else. “You’d tell me if something was wrong, right?”

“Of course.” She pasted a smile on her face. “You’re my best friend. We tell each other everything ya _Meatball_.”

“Ok, c'mere.” He chuckled, pulling her in for a hug.

* * *

With a glass of wine in her hand, Dina James soon to be Evans, paused her favorite TV show on her DVR and made her way to her front door, where she previously heard the doorbell. Her heart sank into the pit of her stomach, as she found her little sister, drenched from head to toe with tears streaming down her face.

She immediately knew that things didn’t go well with telling Chris.

“Oh, Danni, I’m so sorry.” She pulled her sister into the house to get her out of the rain.


	4. The Truth About Feelings

**CHAPTER FOUR: _The Truth About Feelings_**

“So, exactly what happened?” Dina asked her little sister, as they sat facing each other on the couch, in her living room.  
  
Danni, now dressed in dry clothes, shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth. “I got there, and I was about to tell him, when Camille walks out from somewhere, wearing one of his shirts.”  
  
Dina’s dark brown eyes widened in shock. “You mean his _ex girlfriend_ , Camille? The _wicked witch of Hollywood_ , Camille? The _needs to have her Oscar revoked_ , Camille.”  
  
Danni’s brows furrowed at her sister’s ridiculousness. “Are you done?”  
  
“I’m sorry.” Dina took a sip of her wine. “It’s just I hate that bitch.”  
  
“No kidding.” Danni joked and both girls giggled.  
  
“Whatever.” Dina threw a few popcorn kernels at Danni. “What did you do?”  
  
Danni swallowed, wanting nothing more than to forget that encounter. “I just stood there shocked. She was wearing his shirt and nothing else. He was also wearing no shirt. It was quite obvious what was going on there, Dee.”  
  
“Did he say anything?”  
  
Danni shook her head. “Not really. But she definitely had plenty to say.”  
  
Dina sat up further, wanting her little sister to spill the tea. “Like what?”  
  
Danni shrugged, stuffing another handful of popcorn in her mouth. “She told me that she and Chris were trying to work things out and that I was standing in the way, and I needed to back off.”  
  
“ _What_?” Again, Dina’s eyes went wild.  
  
“And here’s the kicker. She said that it was Chris’s idea.”  
  
Dina rolled her eyes annoyed. “You don’t believe that ho, do you?”  
  
Danni giggled at Dina’s insult. “Not by a long shot. But,” she heaved a heavy sigh, “at the same time, Chris and Camille have been doing this song and dance for two and a half years now. He’s a good guy, and he loves hard, Dee. So, I wouldn’t put it passed him to at least give it another go ‘round with the wicked witch. I mean, who am I stop him.”  
  
“Uh, the mother of his child.” Dina pointed out, a little too loud for Danni’s liking.  
  
“Dee, _really_?” Danni threw herself a handful of popcorn at her sister.  
  
“I’m _sorry_.” Dina cringed, ducking from the flying popcorn. “I didn’t mean to yell that. I doubt Abram heard anything. He sleeps like a dead log.”  
  
“It still doesn’t matter, Dee.” Danni scolded. “I can’t take that chance.”  
  
“So, you’re just not going to tell Chris at all?”  
  
Sipping on her bottle of water, Danni shrugged. “Right now, it’s not the right time.”  
  
“Danni, you have to tell him.” It was Dina’s turn to scold. “You’re going to have a baby, his baby.” She whispered, but then she thought for a second and recoiled. “I mean, unless you’re going to…”  
  
Danni immediately cut Dina off. “No, Dee. I could never to do that. I couldn’t do that to Chris. It’s just better to wait a little longer.”  
  
“When will that be?” Dina’s brows furrowed in confusion. “When the baby can walk up to him, asking for a car for their sixteenth birthday? Danni you got to tell him.”  
  
Danni was getting sick of this. She was going to tell Chris, but when the time was right. And apparently the time was never going to be right. “I will, Dee. Just not right now.”  
  
“Danni…”  
  
Danni closed her eyes and pleaded. “Dina please…”  
  
Dina raised her hands in defeat. “Ok.”  
  
Danni sighed and stood to her feet, setting the popcorn bowl on the coffee table. “I’m going to bed.” She told her older sister before retreating to the guest room she always used when she was staying over.

* * *

  


“Hey,” Camille followed her ex boyfriend, and a man she loved more than anything, into his kitchen, “are we going to finish our conversation.”  
  
Chris sighed, pulling a water bottle from his fridge, before popping the cap off and taking a long swallow. He pulled the bottle away from his lips, looking over at his beautiful ex, a woman he would have once given the world to, as she stood leaned against his kitchen counter. “I told you, Cami. Things are just not there for me anymore. I care about you, I do. But things have changed. You’re not the girl I met three years ago, and I am not that guy.” He tossed his water bottle in the garbage, leaving the kitchen.  
  
“It’s Danielle, isn’t it?” Camille, in hot pursuit, followed him to the living room.   
  
Chris let out a frustrated groan, running his fingers through his dark hair, whipping around to face her. “This _right_ here.” He pointed an accusing finger at her. “ _This_ is why we could never work out, and now that you mention it, yeah, it does have something to do with do with it. She’s my best friend, Camille. She means the world to me, and you can’t accept that.”  
  
“Yeah, it’s a little hard to accept you quote un quote _friendship_ with Danielle, when you and I both know it’s more than that.” Camille argued.  
  
Chris looked down at his ex confused. “What are you talking about?”  
  
Camille shook her head in disbelief, folding her arms across her chest. “You have feelings for her, but you’re just too damn scared to admit it.”  
  
“I’m not afraid to admit anything.” He challenged, mirroring her stance. If there was something she was trying to get out of him, he felt she needed to just ask him, not play fucking mind games.  
  
“Then tell me the _truth_ , Chris.” She pushed. “Do you have _feelings_ for Danielle?”  
  
“Yes.” He finally admitted, not missing the look at disappointment on her face, but at this moment he could have cared less. “Are you happy now?” He looked her in the eye and sighed. “Look, when your clothes dry, leave your key at the door. C’mon, Dodge,” he snapped his fingers at his dog, “let’s go to bed, buddy.” He retreated to his bedroom for the night, slamming the door in the process.


	5. Chris Finds Out About Baby Meatball

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry so late. I'm updating a lot of stories right now. But thanks so much for the love and support. Yall are amazing!

 

Sighing heavily, Danni shoved her phone into her back pocket, as she opened the door to her apartment. She had still been avoiding Chris’s messages, but she knew that she couldn’t avoid him for too much longer. She now had physically proof that a child, the child they created together, was on their way into this world in just a few months.  
  
“So, let me see, let me see.”  
  
Danni nearly jumped out of her skin, as her sister surprised her on the other side of the door. “Dee, Jesus.” She placed a hand over her racing heart. “You know it’s bad to scare a pregnant woman.”  
  
Dina shrugged. “You’ll be fine. Now, let me see.” She held her hands out.  
  
Danni, rolling her eyes, reached into her purse and pulled out a sonogram and handed it to her sister. “Here. That’s my little meatball.”  
  
 “ _Awww_.” Dina gushed, looking down at the black and white image in her hand. “So, how far long are you?”

Danni walked into her kitchen, pulling off her jacket and throwing it down on her dining table. “Just a little over six weeks.” She opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water for herself and Dina. “My due date is December 23rd.”  
  
“A Christmas baby.” Dina squeaked, following her little sister into the living room, taking a seat on the couch.  
  
“I know.” Danni smiled, taking a sip of her water bottle.  
  
“So, when are _we_ going to tell mom? She’s still not listening when I tell her I want to have the wedding at daddy’s.”   
  
Danni let out a frustrated growl. “Dina, we’ve been over this. We are not using my kid as leverage to make yourself look better in mom’s eyes. And besides mom talks to Lisa all the time. I can’t have her slipping up and telling Lisa about this baby until I tell Chris myself.”  
  
“And when are _we_ doing this again?” Dina sang, playfully playing with the rim of her water bottle.  
  
Danni’s brows furrowed at her sister’s question. “Do you speak French or something? What is with this _we_ shit? I told you, I’m going to tell him when I’m ready.”  
  
“ _Fine_.” Dina sighed heavily, rolling her dark chestnut eyes toward the sky, giving up. “I’m not going to force it.”  
  
“Thank you.” Danni nodded, taking another sip of her water. “What are you doing here anyway?”  
  
“What? I can’t come and visit my little sister?” Danni gave her the side eye, causing Dina to release another heavy sigh. “Fine, Abram has all his frat buddies over and they were driving me crazy. Then mom called me to have lunch with her, and I really didn’t want to do that. So, I ended up here.”  
  
“Great.” Danni mumbled. “So mom can blame me for something else.”  
  
“You and mom really need to have a talk.”  
  
“You remember what happened the last time mom and I had a ‘talk’?” Danni air quoted. “It didn’t end very well, did it? And it wouldn’t matter anyway. Things with that woman will never change. Just because I chose not to embrace her version of a lavish lifestyle of pearls and high tea, I am a disappointment in her eyes.”  
  
“You are not a disappointment, Danni. Mom loves you.”  
  
“Well, she has a very funny way of showing it.” Danni said desolately.  
  
“I know, but it’s mom.” Dina reached over to squeeze her sister’s knee in reassurance. “So, how about you and me stay in, watch some sappy movies to make fun of, and order Leone’s?”  
  
“That sounds amazing.” Danni retorted, as phone dinged with a message, as she pulled it out of her back pocket. She was expecting another text from Chris, but it was Tommy from her bar. He needed to see her. “Ok, why don’t you order the pizza, Tommy wants me for a bit. I’ll be right back.”  


 

Dina was currently in the middle of eating her first slice of pizza, when she heard the sound of the doorbell. Pausing her movie and setting her pizza back in the box, she made her way over to the door. She glanced in the peephole, and was very surprised by the steely blues looking back at her.  
  
She took in a deep breath, unlocking the lock and opening the door.  
  
“Chris, hey,” she leaned against the door frame, arms across her chest, “what are you doing here?”  
  
“Hey, Dina.” Chris surprised to see Danni’s sister answering the door, furrowed his brow in confusion. “How are you?”  
  
“I’m good, thanks. What are you doing here?” She repeated, as her and Chris still stood at the door.  
  
“I’m looking for Danni.” His eyes glanced behind Dina for any sign of his best friend. “Is she here?”  
  
“No,” Dina shook her head, “she stepped out for a moment.”  
  
“Well,” he took in a deep breath, “ I’ve been trying to call her for a few days now, and she hasn’t been answering my call. I’m getting a bit worried.”  
  
Now it was Dina’s turn to furrow her brow. “I’m confused, Chris. Didn’t you tell your crazy girlfriend that you needed some sort of space between you and Danni?”  
  
Chris stood taken aback. “No!” He exclaimed. “I would never say anything like that. Where did you hear that from?”  
  
“Well, that’s what she told Danni the other night when she came over. Danni’s convinced that you and Camille were working things out.”  
  
Chris closed his eyes in frustration. He couldn’t believe Camille right now. “Oh God, look Danni got it all wrong. Camille and I are not getting back together. I don’t know what she told Danni that night, but it's over between Camille and I.”  
  
Dina sighed heavily, inviting Chris into the apartment. She then made her way over to the dining room table, picking up the sonogram that Danni left behind, and then turning back around to face Chris. “Well, there is something you need to know.”

* * *

  
  
Danni made her way out of the bar, from her talk with Tommy. She was surprised to find her best friend leaning against her car, his arms folded across his broad chest. She sighed heavily, no longer being able to avoid him and the inevitable.   
  
“You know people could see you, right?” She tried to make a joke, but the look on his face said he wasn’t in a joking mood.  
  
“If I cared about that, I wouldn’t be here.”  
  
“Chris,” she exasperated.  
  
He immediately cut her off, meeting her half way. “I stopped by your apartment earlier. Had an interesting talk with your sister.”  
  
“Oh, _God_.” She groaned, knowing that Dina ratted her out.  
  
He cut her off again. “Is that what you needed to talk to me about the other night?”  
  
Danni swallowed the lump in the back of her throat. “What did she tell you?”  
  
Chris sighed, reaching into his back pocket, pulled out an object, and placed it in the palm of her hand. Danni looked down and saw that it was the sonogram. She cursed herself inside. She was going to kill Dina.  
  
“Were you going to tell me?” Chris questioned, his eyes tensed in anger.  
  
“Eventually,”  
  
“ _Eventually_?” He exclaimed, confusion running through his mind. “You don’t think I have a right to know about my kid.” He gestured his open hand toward her belly.  
  
Danni looked down and sighed. “I was going to tell you that night, but we were interrupted by your half _naked_ girlfriend.”  
  
“ _Ex_ ,” Chris corrected her. “Camille and I are not getting back together. And I can not believe that you would actually think that I would want any distance from you.” He pointed an excusing finger at her.  
  
“First of all, don’t point that thing at me,” she slapped his hand away, “and second, I never believed that, Chris. But I also know you. Camille was there for a reason.”  
  
Chris groaned in frustration, running a hand across his face. “Yeah, we ran into each other, got fucking poured on, and then came back to my place because her hotel was too far away. I made it perfectly clear to her that we are finished.”  
  
“Chris,”  
  
Chris stopped her, taking a step forward. “Look, I’m sorry you got the wrong idea, but Camille and I are over. Now about this,” he took the sonogram from her hands, holding it in her face, “I just want to let you know that I want to be there. I’m gonna be there. I don’t care what it takes. Yeah, it’s a bit unconventional, but so are we.”  
  
Danni swallowed painfully, feeling the tears in her eyes. “Chris, I don’t need your pity.”  
  
“Pity?” He questioned. “Danni, I would never pity you because I love you, you _idiot_.”  
  
“What?”   Now it was Danni’s turned to be taken aback. Did Chris just tell her he loved her.  
  
Chris sighed heavily, stuffing his hands and the sonogram, in his pockets. “Not exactly the way I wanted to tell you, on a sidewalk,” he glanced around, “in front of a bar, with Tommy staring at us,” he waved to the bartender, and Danni turned around. Tommy looked at them wide eye, before completing his task at busing one of the tables. “Which for an actor,” he continued, “who’s been in more romantic comedies than I can remember, it’s kind of cliché if you think–”  
  
Now it was Danni’s turn to cut Chris off, by shoving a hand over his mouth. “Shut up. You’re doing that thing where you start rambling to overcompensate something you said that spikes your anxiety.” She explained, removing her hand.  
  
He playfully narrowed his eyes toward her, a small smirk appeared on his face. “Ok, so you really do know me well.”  
  
Danni giggled softly. “Yeah, I do,” she poked him in the chest, “because I love you too, _freaking meatball_.”  
  
Chris reached up, cupping his face in his hands, thumb gently caressing her cheekbone. “So, you love me and I love you. What are we going to do about that?”  
  
“I think we could come up with something.” She whispered, standing on her tip toes, connecting her mouth to his in a passionate kiss.

  
With his hands still firmly gripping the side of her face, he kissed her back with much conviction. But immediately pulled away, resting his forehead against hers. “Lets get out of here.” He whispered, placing his mouth back on hers.  
  
“Ok,” she whispered back, giving him another kiss.


	6. Slip of the Book

##  **CHAPTER SIX: SLIP OF THE BOOK**

When Chris and Danni arrived at Danni’s apartment, a few hours ago, they had noticed that Dina had made herself scarce in order to give the two of them the privacy that they needed.

And boy did they take advantage of it.  Once they made it to the bedroom door, their clothes were the second thing that had made themselves scarce that night.

The kisses were passionate, the touches were intense, and before they knew, their bodies had exploded with extraordinary pleasure.

In post coital bliss, Chris gently caressed his plush lips down Danni’s naked spine, starting from her shoulder blades down to the dip in her lower back.  The then slowly dragged his mouth and tongue back up, removing the hair from her neck, placing one last kiss there and then finally collapsing on his back next to her.

“So,” Danni still propped on her elbows, looked down at Chris, who laid there with his eyes closed, “what are you thinking?”

“Thinking?”  His eyes remained closed, as he steadily tried to catch his breath.  “I’m not even sure my mind can function at this point.”  He softly chuckled.

Danni giggled softly, laying her head down on his chest, as she ran her fingers through his damp chest hair.

“Why?  What are you thinking?”  He wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her temple.

“Well, first, that was amazing,” she commented, and then giggled again when Chris lazily threw up a number two in the air, “ _twice_.  And second,” she hesitated, “is real right?  You and me?”

Chris looked down and furrowed his brow and just wrapped his arms around her tighter.  “Absolutely.”  He dropped another kiss on her head.

Danni smiled, nuzzling closer into Chris’ chest, his heartbeat soothing her.  “Good.”

* * *

“Hey, what are you doing?”  Chris’ face appeared on Danni’s phone, as he checked in for their daily FaceTime.

Right after Chris and Danni both decided to actually pursue a relationship since finding out about Baby Meatball, Chris was back on press tour.

“I’m just hanging out at your place.”  Danni answered, stretching out across Chris’ California king bed, dressed in nothing but one of his Nasa shirts and a pair of boyshorts.  She was watching ESPN highlight reel of the Sox game she missed today, while Dodger was curled at her feet.  “There’s a couple who moved in next door to me, and they will not stop having sex.”

Chris raised an intriguing brow.  “ _Oh really_?”

Danni playfuly rolled her eyes at her perverted boyfriend.  “Never mind.”

“ _What_?”  He feigned innocence.

“I said sex, and all the blood flow went from your upstairs brain,” she pointed to her temple, “to your downstairs brain.”  She pointed below.

“ _No, it didn’t_ ”  He argued, shifting uncomfortably.

“Yes, it did.”  She argued back.

“ _Ok, fine_ ,” he sighed heavily, “ _it did_.”  She watched his eyes immediately look down at his lap, and then back at her face.  “ _The word sex coming out of your mouth is very triggering_.”

“I’m sure.”  She retorted, but then thought of sex with Chris and all of the blood from her head rushed to her downstairs brain.  “So, speaking of horny, when are you getting another break from press tour?”

“ _Why_?”

“No reason.”  She feigned slight innocence.

“ _Ok, sure_.”  He threw back at her.

“Fine,” she huffed adjusting herself on Chris’ bed, “your child has thrown my body all out of whack and all of my hormones off balance, and I need to get laid.”  She spouted out, and Chris burst out laughing.  “I so hate you right now.”  And that just seemed to egg him on.  “Ok, I’m hanging up now.”

“ _Ok, ok.  I’m sorry.  To answer your question, I won’t be back until the dress rehearsal for Dee and Abe’s wedding.  And that’s pushing it_.”

“Are you saying that you might not even be here for the wedding?  You’re the best man.”

“ _I know, but I promise I will be there_.”

“Well, this is frustrating.  I guess I will have to care of myself, myself.  Again.”  

“ _Can I watch_?”

“Perv.”

“ _Wait?  What do you mean again_?”

“That’s why I had to get away from my place.  The honeymooners were stirring up things that I don’t need to have stirred.”

“ _Wait a minute?  Did you get yourself off to the couple_?”  He gave her a sly smirk.

“I’m so ashamed.”  She ducked her head in embarrassment.

“ _And you call me a perv_.”  He joked, starting to laugh again.

“Really?  You suck.”  She playfully stuck her tongue out at him.

Then the sound of the doorbell rang through the condo.

“Was that the doorbell? Are you expecting company?”

“Of course.”  She stood up from the bed, adjusting the shirt, that fell right at the top of her thighs.  “It’s my new boyfriend, because my old one sucks donkey nuts.”

“ _Well make sure you tell him bring his own beer.  I’m very attached to the ones in the fridge_.”

She then looked at him dead on, before rolling her eyes.  “Don’t worry, your precious beer is safe.  It’s just Leone’s.”

“ _Leone’s_?”  He groaned loudly.  How could she do this to him?

“Jealous?”

“ _So jealous.  I can’t believe you got Leone’s while I’m not there_.”

“Even if you were here, you wouldn’t be able to eat it **Mr. I Need To Keep My Dorito Shaped Body To Play Captain America**.”

He blinked several times, before telling her, “ _you need to stay off the internet_.”

“No, I think it’s kind of fun.  And besides do you want your child to starve?”

“ _Don’t blame this on the kid.  You did this to torture me_.”

“Why on Earth would I want to torture you?”

“ _Because you’re mean to me_.”

“Is that any way to speak to the mother of your child?”

“ _So, that’s what I have to endure for the next nine months_?”

“Give or take a month or two, but essentially yes.  I mean seeing as I will be dealing with weight gain, morning sickness, swelling and not mention there will be a physical human being coming out of my body, you’re lucky this is all you’re getting.”

“ _Well, this gonna be fun_.”  He spat sarcastically, and she giggled.

“Totes fun.”

“ _Great_.”

“Don’t you have people to schmooze, Cap?”

“ _I just want to see the Leone’s first_.”  He begged, causing her to let out another giggle.

“Speaking of torture.”  She muttered to herself, still laughing.  “Goodbye _Christopher_.”  She hung up the phone, placing it down on the coffee table.  Preparing her cash, she opened the door and was surprised to not see the usual delivery boy for Leone’s but, “Camille?”

“Danni?”  Camille, Chris’ ex stood at the door bright brown eyes in complete shock.  “What are you doing here?”  

Danni said nervously, standing in between wedge of the door.  “I could ask you the same thing.  Chris isn’t here.  He’s back on press tour.  And if he was, I doubt he’d want to see you.”

“ _Ouch_.”  Camille sarcastically winced at Danni’s words.  “I guess I deserved that.”

“You bet your ass you do.”  Danni snipped.  “So, you have a good night.”  She went to shut the door, but Camille stuck her foot in the jam.  “What?”

Camille hesitated a moment, before blurting out, “I think I left my earring here from the last time.”

Danni rolled her eyes, annoyed, because she knew that this girl was trying to use any excuse to get in the apartment.  “Camille, what are you doing?”

“What do you mean?”  Camille’s perfectly sculpted brows knit in confusion.

“You and Chris are done.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”  Camille jabbed a manicured nail toward Danni.

Danni basically slapped her hand away.  “I do.”

“Right because he tells you everything?”  Now it was Camille’s turn to roll her eyes, before sighing heavily.  “Look, I just want to find my earring.”

Danni waited a few second, before giving in.  “Fine.  Five minutes.”  She stepped aside and allowed her boyfriend’s ex to come in.

“Wow.   That was quick.  Breaks up with me and you  immediately become lady of the house.”  Camille spat sarcastically, strolling her way inside.

“Just find your damn earring, so you can get the hell out of here.”

Danni watched as Camille pretended to look for her “missing earring”.  She knew this girl was all bullshit, but she wanted to see what she actually wanted.

Camille stopped short, as something immediately caught her eyes.  “What is this?”  She picked up a book from the coffee table and reading the label, What To Expect When You’re Expecting.  “Is this yours?”  She turned the book over toward Danni.  “Are you pregnant?”

“Ok, Camille.  It’s time for you to go.”  Danni stormed over to Camille, snatching the book from Camille’s grubby little paws, and practically shoved her to the door.

“Answer the question, Danni.”  Camille did not budge.  “Are you pregnant?”

Danni sighed, running a hand across her messy bun.  “I don’t have to answer anything.”

Camille cackled not amused.  “This makes perfect sense, as to why Chris wouldn’t want to try again.  Because he knocked your skanky ass up.”

“Ok, good bye.”  Danni grabbed Camille’s elbow, this time actually shoving her out and then slammed the door in her face.

Danni let out a The breath she had no idea she was holding in, leaning against the door.  Chris was gonna be upset.  This was definitely not the way he nor she wanted to let people know.  Especially not Chris’ vindictive ex girlfriend.

A few minutes later the doorbell rang again.

“What the hell do you want now?”  Danni snatched the door open, thinking it was Camille still there to play games.

But it was just Leone’s delivery boy, she previously expected.

“I was just delivering your pizza.”  The pimply faced 16 year old said, nervously handing her the pizza she ordered.

“I’m sorry.”  Flustered, Danni muttered, going to grab the money she owed.  “I thought you were someone else.”  She tried to smile, handing him the total plus a generous tip.

He quickly handed her the pizza and disappeared down the hall.  

As Danni shut the door, she laid the box of food, she no longer had the stomach to eat, down on the coffee table, contemplating her next move.  She needed to tell Chris immediately.  But either way they were screwed.


End file.
